Elenee Young doesn't skip a beat.

As marketing manager for Spiro's, a third generation Greek/Canadian eatery located in Lloydminster, Elenee Young is often the voice for change and looking for the next thing to keep the family business moving forward.

“I'm probably the first person in our family to bring in an outside education in business, economics and marketing. It has been a gradual process to help my family understand that change is good,” says Young.

She graduated from Lakeland College's business administration diploma program in 2015 with a major in marketing and then completed a bachelor of commerce in 2017 through the college's partnership with Athabasca University.

"I swear the restaurant is in our blood. I think what wakes me up in the morning and pushes me to do the things I do is this beating in my heart that says, ‘How are you making this 50-year-old business better?'” says Young.

When the pandemic closed the front doors of many businesses, Young explains Spiro's team had to figure out a way to get business out the back door.

“There's a lot more to owning a restaurant than opening up your doors and cooking food and hoping people show up. It's an experience, and it requires a team that is going to be equipped to handle the whole process.”

Spiro's recently unveiled a state-of-the-art patio experience in the spring, upgraded their point of sale system to track sales and food inventory efficiently, and developed a new app capable of booking reservations, placing online orders, and offering a loyalty program.

"Our restaurant's motto is let our family serve yours. I wanted to make Spiro's easily accessible again since the pandemic slowed everything down. If we're not able to accommodate people through our front doors for dining in, I want to be able to say you can order online.”

They also franchised their Spiro's Greek Dressing and Secret Sauce to be sold in stores across Alberta and Saskatchewan, which also got them an audition with the producers of Dragons' Den, a Canadian television show where aspiring entrepreneurs pitch business ideas to a panel of venture capitalists in the hope of securing business financing and partnerships.

"We didn't get to pitch to the Dragons because that's the next tier. From what the producers told us, our product didn't line up with the theme for that season so we won't make it to the next stage. Overall, it was a fun experience. It encouraged us to dig deep into our numbers and explore the profitability of our product,” Young explains.

Locally, the sauces that feature family recipes are available at variety of stores and can be ordered online.

Next, Young says she's excited to make Spiro's recipes more accessible and bring a bit of Greek culture to home chefs everywhere through a cooking show in partnership with the Lloydminster & District Co-op.

From being a family restaurant to taking care of families, Spiro's brand remains family.

"Because I grew up in a family business, a lot of what I learned at Lakeland wasn't new information, but I found learning from different perspectives invaluable. Lakeland opened my eyes to the outside world, what running a successful business could look like and encouraged me to be open to exploring different ways to grow. It's been insane to see the growth that's come from accepting and changing with the times,” Young says.

When Young isn't wearing her restaurateur cap, she is a wife, a mom of two and a Christian/Gospel singer/ songwriter. In 2017, she was named Songwriter of the Year at GMA Immerse.